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Carol Yang

Beijing has increased its inspections on Panama-flagged vessels entering Chinese ports, a source from the shipping industry said, an action intended to raise the Latin American country’s stress level after its courts voided the operating rights of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison in the Panama Canal.
Port state control (PSC) – the inspection regime countries may deploy to verify the compliance of foreign ships with various international standards – was being used as a form of leverage as tensions continue to roil over the vital shipping lane, the source told the South China Morning Post.
“The intensification of inspections on Panama-flagged vessels is a move to ramp up pressure on the country amid the ongoing port dispute.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had pledged to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises after Panama’s top court annulled the port concession granted to a subsidiary of CK Hutchison in late January.
The concession, deemed “unconstitutional” by the Panamanian court, had been in place in various forms since the 1990s; the judicial decision was made after US President Donald Trump threatened to “take back” the canal and levied repeated allegations of Chinese influence on global shipping throughout the first year of his second term.
In February, Panamanian authorities handed temporary, separate control of the two ports to units of the Danish shipping giant Maersk and the Geneva-based MSC.
Beijing’s increased rate of inspection could have a significant ripple effect on the industry. For its ease of adoption and utility in avoiding other countries’ strict maritime regulations, Panama is among the world’s most common ship registries – trailing only Liberia – and vessel registration is a significant component of the country’s economy.
According to UN Trade and Development, there were 8,572 ships registered under the Panama flag as of January 2025, representing 7.6 per cent of the world’s total fleet and 15.2 per cent in terms of cumulative tonnage.


In the week since China’s Ministry of Transport summoned Maersk and MSC, 28 Panama-flagged vessels were detained at Chinese ports, according to data from the Tokyo MOU, a regional maritime organisation that oversees PSC standards in the Asia-Pacific.
The inspection wave, which accounted for 73.7 per cent of all ship detentions in China during that week, stands in contrast with the figures from the same period last year, where only four Panama-flagged vessels were detained, accounting for just 20 per cent of the total.
Most of the 28 vessels were held for deficiencies in fire safety systems, weather integrity and pollution prevention. While 19 were released after one to three days, the rest remain in detention.
If the current level of scrutiny persists, shipowners may begin to reconsider their registration with the Panamanian flag, the source said, as prolonged detentions not only result in costly delays but also leave a stain on a vessel’s inspection record.
Beyond the ratcheting up of inspections, two container lines belonging to Chinese state-owned transport giant Cosco Shipping have suspended services at the port of Balboa, one of the two facilities taken from CK Hutchison by the Panamanian government.
According to a customer advisory dated March 10, the two companies will cease all arrivals and departures at the port, and all confirmed bookings for Balboa will be cancelled.
Panama’s Minister for Canal Affairs, Jose Ramon Icaza, told reporters on Friday that the government hoped the Chinese shipper would “reconsider” its decision, saying its cargo is “important”.
Panama was the first Latin American country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a strategy to boost regional connectivity primarily through infrastructure projects, but the Latin American nation formally withdrew last year – a decision also made amid US pressure.


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Intensified inspections for Panama-flagged vessels – among the world’s most common registrations – retaliation for canal port seizure, source says


Intensified inspections for Panama-flagged vessels – among the world’s most common registrations – retaliation for canal port seizure, source says.


Papers please: China raises pressure on Panama amid canal row with ship inspection wave

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Intensified inspections for Panama-flagged vessels – among the world’s most common registrations – retaliation for canal port seizure, source says

Intensified inspections for Panama-flagged vessels – among the world’s most common registrations – retaliation for canal port seizure, source says